


What Fortune Brings

by Yrindor



Series: Sports Anime Shipping Olympics 2016 Fills [60]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Changeling Midorima Shintarou, Druid Takao Kazunari, Kitsune, M/M, Prompt Fic, SASO 2016, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-04
Updated: 2016-08-04
Packaged: 2018-07-29 06:00:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7672816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yrindor/pseuds/Yrindor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Whether it's his Hawk Eye giving him an advantage on the court, or the Sight letting him see the supernatural, Takao has always been blessed with sharper sight than most.  But when his keen eye reveals that a certain teammate of his isn't entirely human, Takao begins to wonder whether it's a blessing or a curse.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What Fortune Brings

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Paktigija](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Paktigija/gifts).



> Written for Sports Anime Shipping Olympics 2016 Bonus Round 5: Myth & Lore. The prompt was:
>
>> MidoTaka -- Irish mythology. Midorima is a changeling of the Seelie court, but doesn't know it yet. He meets Takao (a Druid in training) when both are teenagers, and Takao recognizes his fey nature. Shenanigans ensue~

The first time Takao sees it is during practice on day their first year of high school. Ootsubo finally hits his breaking point when Midorima's lucky item for the day is a Miyu Miyu doll, and he orders Midorima to leave it in his locker for the duration of practice. Of course, that leads to Miyaji loudly lamenting the loss of his love as Midorima blames the lack of his lucky item for every failed pass or missed shot, and Ootsubo just keeps glaring at the both of them.

Eventually, Midorima can't take it anymore and declares he's going to go practice his three-pointers by himself. It's as he takes his first shot that Takao see it; it's only a brief flash out of the corner of his eye, but it's enough for him to notice something decidedly not-human about his teammate.

He looks up in surprise, but whatever it was is long gone, and all he sees is the teammate he's used to.

But he knows what he saw. He's a druid-in-training after all, and even his Hawk Eye is nothing compared to the Sight.

He starts watching Midorima more closely after that, but it's not until several months later that he sees that strange flash for the second time. He goes to pick Midorima up before school like usual, but his teammate is running uncharacteristically morning, so he lets himself in to see what's causing the delay.

He finds Midorima in the kitchen with his sister arguing over headbands. He's holding a blue one, apparently Cancer's lucky item for the day, and his sister is trying to trade him for an orange one, since she was planning on wearing the blue one. Takao watches the argument for a couple of minutes before finally pointing out that they'll be late to their math exam if they don't hurry.

Midorima glares at his sister once more, but he ultimately gives in and takes the orange headband instead of the blue. His little sister has always been one of his biggest weaknesses, and he even waits until they're halfway down the street before calling her a long string of less-than-complimentary names.

They're halfway to school when Takao sees the same flash of something inhuman again just as Midorima demands they stop at the convenience store so that he can purchase a proper blue headband before the exam. Again it's only there for a split second before it fades, but Takao notices, and he files that information away for later too.

It's not until the third time it happens, several months later, that the pieces finally fall into place. It's a Sunday morning, and somehow he's been dragged into Midorima's hunt for the day's lucky item, which of course is a rather obscure kitchen implement. They're on their third antique store now, and Midorima's frustration is beginning to show.

They reach the end of the row, and Takao sees the same flash out of the corner of his eye. Unlike the previous times though, it doesn't fade immediately. He looks up, and his teammate's features have been replaced by a set that would be immediately recognizable to anyone who's read the old fairy tales. Midorima's ears are pointed now, matching his needlelike teeth, and his eyes are yellow with a cat's slit pupils. Takao bites back a gasp of surprise as he finds himself face-to-face with a fae changeling.

Then, Midorima exclaims, "Found it!" and holds up an olive spoon triumphantly, and he's back to looking like his usual self, all traces of his fae nature hidden once more.

"Shin-chan," Takao asks, "how long have you been following Oha Asa?"

"Longer than I remember."

"Who first started giving you your lucky items then?"

"My grandmother. Apparently one day when I was only a couple of months old, she came over to visit, and then left immediately and came back with Cancer's lucky item for the day. According to my parents she came by every morning with a new lucky item for me until I was old enough to start getting them myself."

"What's she like, Shin-chan?"

"Interesting. She used to be a shrine maiden, and after the War she spent a couple of years at a temple in Ireland as part of a goodwill exchange. And then she came back here and had my mother. Why all the questions, Takao?"

"Ummm,…." Takao stalls as he tries to figure out where to even begin. "Why don't we go back outside?"

"It's unlike you to be at a loss for words, Takao," Midorima says once they've left the shop.

"Have you ever heard of changelings, Shin-chan?" Takao asks.

"The fairies that were supposedly traded for human babies?"

"Yeah, those."

"Of course I've heard of them, Takao. What does that have to do with anything?"

"What if I told you those stories were real?"

Midorima blinks in confusion. "Nonsense," he says. "Fairy stories are just that—stories. We've come up with rational explanations for much of the supposed 'magic' in them, and we're still looking for the rest."

"They're not just stories, Shin-chan," Takao says, knowing he's going to be fighting an uphill battle. "Look, watch this." There's a flowering bush next to the sidewalk, and he wraps his hand around one of the budding branches. Taking a deep breath, he reaches for the magic that lays in the earth and draws it up into the plant; his hand glows a faint green as he coaxes the flowers into bloom. "See, Shin-chan?"

Midorima is silent for a long minute as he tries to process what he's witnessing. "There's no such thing as magic," he says finally. "It's a clever trick of some sort; I'm not sure how you did it, but somehow you convinced the plant to rapidly accelerate the growing process, probably by release of some sort of anti-inhibitory factor—"

"It's magic, Shin-chan," Takao interrupts, "whether you choose to believe in it or not."

"There's no such thing as magic," Midorima counters firmly. "Everything has a rational explanation."

Takao sighs. His teammate is remarkably stubborn sometimes, but he needs to convince him, and soon.

"You know the park behind your house?" he says. "Meet me there tonight at dusk."

"I don't see the—"

"Please, Shin-chan."

"Fine," Midorima finally concedes.

They part ways soon after that, and Takao spends the rest of the afternoon preparing. He knows what he wants to do; he just hopes it will be enough. He's already sitting in the grass with a large basin of water he dragged from home when Midorima arrives.

"What's the meaning of this?" Midorima asks as he sits beside Takao, clearly annoyed at having been dragged away from his normal evening routine.

"There's something else I didn't tell you this morning, Shin-chan. I...you...you're a changeling."

"I'm what? Are you sure you aren't ill?"

"I'm sure, Shin-chan. Please, try to believe me," Takao says desperately. Far off in the distance he can hear laughter that chimes like bells and the shrill cry of a horn. He's been hearing them since the minute he'd seen the fae within Midorima. The full Seelie Court is turning out, and Takao knows they're coming, all he can hope is that it doesn't turn into a Hunt.

"I thought it might help if you saw it for yourself," he continues, rushing frantically through the words. "That's why I brought this. With the right magic, mirrors can reflect more than just physical appearances, and water is inherently a mirror of sorts. I enchanted it to reflect your true self, so you should be able to see. The Seelie Court is most powerful at twilight, so the effect will be strongest if you look now.

"Fine," Midorima grumbles, but it's clear he still thinks this is some sort of elaborate joke.

Then he looks into the enchanted mirror and finds himself face-to-face with the same fae creature Takao had seen that morning.

"There must be some sort of trick of the light," he says as he backs away from the basin, but he no longer sounds so sure. "And if I were a changeling, wouldn't I know what I had done? So why do I only feel human?"

"I'm not entirely sure myself," Takao admits, "but I think someone meddled with the fae's intent. Or rather, I think your grandmother somehow used your lucky items to stop the fae from spiriting you away completely."

"My grandmother?" Midorima asks incredulously. "She couldn't—"

Any objection he may have been about to raise is cut short by the fox fire that suddenly ignites on the other side of the field.

"So my secret comes out at last," says a woman's voice from the center of the blinding white flames.

"Grandmother?" Midorima whispers.

"You're a bright one, druid boy," the voice continues as the fox fire coalesces into a many-tailed kitsune, "but perhaps not bright enough. You hear them coming, don't you? Better Seelie than Unseelie, but do you really believe you can face the entire Seelie Court, and you no more than a novice yourself?"

Takao swallows hard. He knows he's in way over his head, but he's not going to let them take Midorima without a fight.

"I suppose there's no helping it," the kitsune says. Takao's having a hard time keeping track of her tails, but he counts at least five.

"I leave Shintarou to you, young druid boy," she continues. "Leave the Faerie Queen and her ilk to me; I've bested her before, and I'll _gladly_ do so again. The Fair Folk like to think _they're_ the silver-tongued tricksters, but they have _nothing_ on us kitsune."

Takao needs no further urging, and he gladly steps back next to Midorima, who is shaking and alarmingly pale.

"They are _not_ going to take you from me," Takao whispers fiercely as he opens himself to the forces of nature. "I love you," he says, and the ground underfoot roars with power as his feelings reverberate through it.

**Author's Note:**

> [Kiyala](https://kiyala.dreamwidth.org/) wrote a lovely fic [here](https://sportsanime.dreamwidth.org/16335.html?thread=7699919#cmt7699919) building out the backstory from the POV of Midorima's grandmother.
> 
> As always, comments and feedback are welcome and appreciated.


End file.
